The Whole-System Approach

"The seeds of future events are carried
within ourselves. They are implicit in us
and unfold according to the laws of
their own nature."

Lawrence Durrell, The Alexandria Quartet: Cleo

Increasing numbers of people now are using astrology to better understand themselves and their relationships, their place in the world, their deep inner self and their ancestral legacy through family dynamics. Typically, a client does want to maximize their potential and realize their goals, but most importantly, they want to know what is going to happen to them and when. To what degree can astrology address these natural concerns?

There is still no coherent answer to the ages-old inquiry into how astrology 'works' – after a long, slow, deep evolution of my own work, this wonder has “cooked” in my mind but never caused me much alarm, since I know it works, and that is what matters. On a purely intellectual level, there are some reasonable conjectures I have about how it works. It works like any integral system with a core focus and surrounding satellites.

An edited excerpt from Venus and Jupiter: Bridging the Ideal and the Real (CPA Press, 1997). This article shows the many aspects of Eros and inspiration in life, love and creativity. First published in Apollon, April 1999.

In the Theogony, dating from the 6th century BCE, the origins of the Greek hierarchy and theocracy are found. Hesiod begins this wonderful poem with the origin of the world in Chaos. Chaos means literally a gap, a 'yawn', a state of animated suspension. The Greek state of chaos implies unboundedness, an open, undifferentiated state of being. In other origin myths there are parallels - in Egyptian, Sumerian and Babylonian stories, as well as Native American, South American, African, Tibetan, Hindu exist a state of chaos out of which is born matter. Hence from this cosmic prima materia are born various deities - often elements of nature or necessary precursors to life itself. Therefore, chaos is a rich array of elemental forces all in place, but without form or differentiation.

The following article is an exerpt from Erin Sullivan's book Dynasty: The Astrology of Family Dynamics. While focusing on the astrology of family relationships, it is an excellent exploration of the Sun and Moon in a much wider context and thoroughly recommended for its psychological insight into the meaning of these two primary astrological bodies.

Astrology is not gender-biased. The planets are not discrete energies making us do things, nor do they have sexual gender as we understand it to mean males and females. Masculine and feminine do not necessarily always refer to men and women. If those statements are true, then we cannot say, 'The Sun is male and the Moon is female, therefore the Sun is our father-archetype and the Moon is our mother-archetype."

Adolescence: A Psyche in Progress

by Erin Sullivan
First Published in Issue 5, April 2000
“Apollon” The Journal of Psychological Astrology

Adolescence marks the first step toward conscious individuation.
Out of the tantrums of the two-and-a-half year old, and the
cleverness of the seven-year old, into the assertiveness and
confidence of the 10-year old, there emerges suddenly
a mysterious thing. At the first opposition of Saturn to itself,
a new being materializes through the psyche.

Contemporary Astrology and Divination

"The seeds of future events are carried within ourselves. They are implicit in us and unfold according to the laws of their own nature." -- Lawrence Durrell, The Alexandria Quartet: Cleo

Today more and more people are using astrology to understand themselves and their relationships. They want to maximize their potential and realize their goals, but most importantly, they want to know what is going to happen to them and when. To what degree can astrology address these natural concerns?

Real Lives, Real Lines

NOTE: The following is an excerpt from Erin's book, Where in the World? Astro*Carto*Graphy and Relocation Charts. Throughout the book, Erin is working with the students at the Centre for Psychological Astrology in London. In this session, they are talking about a Pluto/Ascendant line.

Audience: Erin, when you were speaking about Pluto lines, I was remembering something. When I was in Australia last year, which, as you know, is where I have my Pluto/Ascendant line exactly running through Sydney, I was staying in an incredibly haunted house. The whole time I was in that house, I fought with a feeling that I was going to see "them" any minute. I felt if I relaxed and dropped my guard, I was going to start seeing the ghosts.